Westminster Abbey1 威斯敏斯特教堂

华中师范大学外国语学院 张紫轩  供稿

Standing in the heart of London， Westminster Abbey is an important church of England and the resting place of many great people including Charles Darwin， Stephen William Hawking and so on. It has stood witness2 to the rise and decline3 of the nation and the changing course of arts and literature4.

This present Gothic-style5 abbey began on the orders of Henry Ⅲ（1216-1272）， who was a weak yet generous King （in building this abbey）. Through the course of so many years， royals6 and builders have changed their names， which results in some fixing and repairing. When the days of Henry Ⅷ  （1509-1547） was reaching its end， he took the Abbey over in 1534 and closed it in 1540. During that hard time， Westminster Abbey created an interesting expression “robbing Peter to pay Paul7”， when money for this abbey was used for another famous church—St Pauls Cathedral. Later， it was under Elizabeth that Westminster finally played its present role： Collegiate8 Church of St Peter at Westminster under the leadership of a dean9， who is appointed10 by the king or queen directly.

Walking into the abbey， more careful steps are suggested， because many great people of different kinds take their long sleep there， from Kings to famous poets. And no matter how grand the abbey is， its space is limited. People have to save the room for future newcomers. So some memorials11 are stone slabs12 set in the floor. If you dont walk carefully， you may step on some memorials... And it happens， sometimes. It might sound a little terrible for those resting great people， but still， having a tiny space in this church would be the highest honor in England， as it reads on the memorial， “buried among kings”.

In addition， as the living symbol of England， Westminster is the place where many important events take place， including royal weddings. If you want to get a quick look at the English history， why not go on a pleasure trip to Westminster Abbey？ Then you may find yourself walking through arts， time and the changing history of England.

威斯敏斯特大教堂坐落于倫敦市中心，是英国重要的教堂，也是查尔斯·达尔文、斯蒂芬·威廉·霍金等伟人的长眠之地。它见证了英国的兴衰沉浮和文学艺术的变革。

如今的这座哥特式修道院是在亨利三世（1216年—1272年）的命令下修建的。亨利三世是一位能力不足但慷慨大方的国王（就修道院的修建方面）。历经多年，皇室成员和建筑者不断更易，这座修道院也不断进行着加固和修复。亨利八世（1509年-1547年）在其统治的末期，于1534年接管了修道院，并于1540年将其关闭。一个有趣的表达方式“拆东墙补西墙”就是在那段艰难时日中诞生：当时原本用于这个修道院的钱被用在了另一个著名的教堂——圣保罗大教堂上。直到后来，在伊丽莎白的统治时期，这所修道院才获得如今的地位，成为由国王或女王直接任命教长的威斯敏斯特大教堂。

进这座修道院，建议你脚下要更小心一些，因为有许多伟大的人物，从国王到著名的诗人，皆安眠于此。不管修道院有多宏伟，它的空间总是有限的，而人们必须为未来的新“房客”腾出空间。因此，有些纪念物只是放置在地板上的石板。一不注意，你就可能会踩到一些纪念物……也不是没出现过这样的情况。对于那些安息于此的伟大人物来说，这听起来可能有点糟糕。但无论如何，能在这里此占据一席之地是英国的最高荣誉，正如碑文所示的，“同国王长眠”。

此外，威斯敏斯特大教堂被视为英国的鲜活象征，许多重要活动在此举行，其中就包括皇室婚礼。若你想一探英国的历史，不如去威斯敏斯特大教堂漫游一番吧！那时你或许会发现，你正畅游于艺术、时间以及英格兰历史更迭的长河中。